Saturday, March 29, 2014

For the fourth time in four years the University of Florida Men's Basketball team has reached the Elite Eight. This is a remarkable accomplishment for any school, much less a school widely regarded as a football school where sustained success on the basketball court was considered nearly impossible as recently as as 15 years ago. And while what Florida has already accomplished this year is to be praised, it will be seen as a failure by many if Billy Donovan and the Gators aren't able to reach the Final Four by beating Dayton later today.

Almost exactly four years ago, Florida stood in the same position as it is today. One game away from a trip to the Final Four. And while there are some remarkable similarities (we'll get to those in a minute) between four years ago and present day, these are two very, very different scenarios.

First the similarities: A mid-major midwestern opponent (Butler/Dayton). An SEC Player of the Year that was also a lightly recruited local player who bloomed late in his collegiate career (Chandler Parsons/Scottie Wilbekin). A leading front court contributor that transferred to Florida (Vernon Macklin/Dorian Finney-Smith). A McDonald's All-American freshman big man from Florida (Patric Young/Chris Walker) contributing off the bench. And finally, four years ago I wrote this.

That's where the similarities end for these teams. That Florida team was a 6 seed that few expected to make a run at the Final Four. This years's team is the tournament's number 1 overall seed, riding a 29 game winning streak. That Florida team featured a collection of players that frustrated and perplexed many Florida fans with their inconsistency and erratic play while this year's Gators play a brand of defensively oriented team basketball that Florida fans have grown to love and appreciate. And finally, these team's core is comprised of four senior starters. Four seniors starters where everything begins and ends for this team. You'll hear plenty today about how Florida's four seniors are playing in their fourth Elite Eight, attempting to finally reach a Final Four. While this is true, it neglects to tell the remarkable journey they've traveled to get to this point.

Four years ago, none of these four seniors could've predicted how their career would turn out. For example, Patric Young was a freshman, a McDonalds All-American coming out of high school who many had pegged as an NBA 1st round draft choice by the end of his sophomore year. Inconsistency, an uneven work ethic and a lack of awareness of who he was as a basketball player all kept this from happening and even had many observers wondering if he'd even merit selection in the the NBA Draft at the conclusion of his career as recently as this past summer. He was, in a word, maddening. He was filled with so much potential. Most of which was unrealized. That is, until this year. Young committed himself to the team and to bettering himself as a basketball player.

The result was the best overall season of his career and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award. This commitment to improvement while staying within one's self is something these four senior all share and it's paid off in the ultimate dividend in sports, winning.

Four years ago, Casey Prather and Will Yeguette were largely unknown frontcourt recruits who had yet to show what, if any, future they'd have in Orange and Blue. Prather was a freakish athlete and while he showed flashes of brilliance, he was inconsistent and not good for much more than the occasional highlight dunk or block. Then this year came around and Prather finally accepted who he was, a great athlete with the ability to lock down wing scorers while punishing teams with a relentless will to use his athleticism by driving the lane to create opportunities for himself and others.

At that same time Will Yeguete was even more of an unknown. Yegeute wasn't highly recruited. His best offer other than Florida was from Indiana. Not present day Indiana but immediately post Kelvin Sampson Indiana. A program that was forced to take two and three star recruits just to fill out their roster. Yeguete played his high school ball at a prep school in my area (Florida Air Academy) that has sent players to Kansas, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Miami among others. When Florida was recruiting Yegeutte I went to watch him play. To say I was underwhelmed would be accurate. I didn't get it. He's 6'7" with average offensive skills and no chance of becoming a perimeter player. What was he ever going to be able contribute to the program at Florida?

That's what I came away thinking. There's a reason Billy Donovan is going to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame and I'm just some schlub writing this post in my bedroom (Not my parent's basement…it's Florida, we don't have basements). He saw what I, and most others, could not. That Will Yegeute is the quintessential "glue guy". He does all the little things and his impact on the game is far greater than anything that will ever show up on a stat sheet. By the time he was a sophomore, Yeguete was a major contributor and I'll go to my grave believing that Florida makes the 2012 Final Four had Yeguete been healthy during the NCAA Tournament that year (Florida blew a big late lead over Louisville in the Elite Eight. It's my belief that Yeguette would've made one or two plays to stem the tide of the Louisville comeback). Unfortunately, the theme of injury is one that would plague Yeguette for much of his career. He missed major chunks of time during his sophomore and junior years due to injury and even had knee surgery this past summer. Yeguette isn't the athlete he once was due to multiple knee procedures but he is finally healthy for the season's stretch run and he's still absolutely the heart and soul of the Florida Basketball program.

Four years ago, Scottie Wilbekin was a 17 year old backup point guard who should've still been a senior in high school. He enrolled at Florida as a 16 year old, fresh off his junior year of high school. The previous spring Florida's presumed backup point guard (Nimrod Tishman…no, really his name was Nimrod) left school during the offseason and Billy Donovan asked the already commmited Gainesville native to skip out on his senior year and come play for Florida. Wilbekin did and, frankly played very well for an impossibly young guy playing at the highest level of college basketball for a coach who is notoriously tough on his point guards. Looking back, its remarkable what Wilbekin did that year.

However, what's more remarkable is the path he's taken since then. Not even the most optimistic of Gator fans could've predicted that the defense first, offensively challenged young point guard would become the SEC Player of the Year. Beyond that, few would've predicted that the seemingly straight laced kid who was coached by his father at the the local Christian school that his father founded would nearly be thrown off the team on two separate occasions only to fight his way back and become the undisputed leader of the nation's #1 team.

While Wilbekin's journey has received the most attention, the journey that each of Florida's seniors has taken to get to this point is remarkable in it's own right. These separate journeys all merged together at some point to form the core of a team that (regardless of the final result) will always be one of my all time favorite Gator teams, regardless of the sport. With that said, Florida needs to win today. The tale of this team, and these four seniors, doesn't end today. At least I hope it doesn't. Not in heartbreak and falling short. No, that's not the story they've been writing.

Dayton played well. Impressed with their collective motor. An appropriate end for a team that lived on its defense all year in Florida. Couldn't hit a shot for the last five minutes (they're good for a stretch like that once a game) but their defense and rebounding sustained them.

Zman's party was a blast for the 45 minutes I was there. Got the dreaded text from the sitter that my youngest was hurt. We rushed home to a bloody, split upper lip. Hanging at the ER until the plastic surgeon stitches him up. We were due for one of these nights.

FYI - same kid that knocked out 3 upper teeth as a 2 y/o, then broke his arm 2 days later, then went to the ER a yr later after dropping a toilet seat on his johnson.

Zmanfest appears to be a great success, despite foul weather. Many wasted folks were still keeping it real when I left to drive Hoopie to his hotel at 130.

Son is doing well, sleeping soundly next to Mom. ER trip was surreal, like the others with him. Watching a strapped-down 4 y/o get a series of painkiller shots in his lip, followed by a plastic surgeon putting stitches in his lips and gums, is not something I hope to revisit any time soon. Time to buy a bubble, Travolta-style. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074236/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_58

Rob- the scar on the top of my head that I gained yesterday is a doozy. Was chasing the kid around in the backyard and I thought I had clearance underneath a tree. I did not and the tree branch wrecked my shit.